Biking with Aunt Larissa
Aunt Larissa took Shecklet #4 on a bike ride this afternoon. They went to the “big park” and #4 played on some of the equipment for a little while before they biked home. Chilly ride, but glad they got some fresh air.
Tag: spring
Zoo & Conservatory with Aunt Larissa
Shecklet #1 took his camera and went with his Aunt Larissa to Como Zoo & Conservatory today. He took pictures of the flowers and they walked around the zoo to look at the animals.
Recess attire
Shecklet #2’s science teacher sent me this picture. She thought it was hilarious that he was wearing shorts, winter gloves and had his coat sleeves pushed up after coming in from recess. He is definitely a MN kid.
Father/Daughter Dance 2022
The Handmaidens of the Lord group that Shecklet #3 is part of planned and hosted a father/daughter dance for the 3-12th grade young ladies and their dads/father figures. Shecklets #3 & #4 accompanied their dad to the event. Shecklet #3 also invited a friend of hers from school to bring her dad too, which she did.
Shecklet #1 was asked to be the DJ for the event and was definitely in his element. He did a great job keeping the music going – because you can’t have a dance without music!
Final ski day of 2022 ⛷
Not much snow left, but they are going to give Trollhaugen one last try for the season.
Shecklet #2 did the waterskipping competition again this year. He went all out and donned his party shirt for the occasion.
You can also watch his entire run:
Spring break 2022
We spent the week at home. Jake traveled for work during the beginning of the week.
Shecklet #2 suggested we add some color to the study room, so we pulled down ceiling tiles and primed them for painting.
Three kids used the painter’s tape technique to paint design their designs and one used a sponge technique.
Once the weather warmed up enough, the kids put on their shorts (it was in the 50’s 😆) and went for their first bike ride of 2022.
Update: April 16. I chose to paint a family of gnomes. After painting six, Shecklet #2 asked if I was planning to paint one for Astrid. I found a design that incorporated a halo. I love how it turned out! 💕
Summer cut – #3
Shecklet #3 is the third kid in about two weeks to update their hair. She wanted to go short, but not as short as her sister. She trusted me to do the chop and this is what she ended up with! (Her last cut was in March 2020 😳.)
We survived distance learning!
What a year! Such an understatement.
It’s hard to sum up all of the thoughts and feeling I have about what took place during the 2020-2021 school year. The kids were resilient and grew in ways that Jake and I are so proud of. They tried new things, were flexible in numerous areas, and handled frustrations and challenges better than I ever expected.
Today was spent doing “fun” things – Shecklet #4 had a virtual dance lesson, award ceremony, and watched a movie. Shecklet #3 ended the day with making play dough. Shecklet #2 was effectively done yesterday because his teachers said he didn’t have to log in today. But I asked him to pose for a last day photo for me and he willingly agreed 😊
All three of these kids are looking forward to going back to school in person in the fall. I hope for their sake it can be as close to normal as possible for them. 💛
Final day of 8th grade
It’s the end of an era for Shecklet #1. He started at his charter school back in the fall of 2012 and finished (via distance learning) today, June 16, 2021. When he started as a kindergartner, it was difficult to imagine him as an 8th grader. And yet, here we are.
First day of school photos: K-8. 8th grade isn’t a uniform photo because uniforms weren’t required while distance learning. And I didn’t have them pose for a second round of photos with them on 😊.
Last day of 8th grade. No more covid hair!
Tonight was the 8th grade banquet. He finally had an opportunity to see many familiar faces in person and mask-free and put an exclamation point at the end of his middle school chapter.
The two teachers in the picture above were constants in Shecklet #1’s life these last two years. The teacher on the right was Shecklet #1’s social studies teacher in 7th and 8th grade as well as his homeroom/cohort teacher. The lovely lady on the left was his case manager for 7th and 8th grade. This past year she was also his math teacher and worked with him on grammar skills every day. It’s safe to say that she knows him the best out of all of his teachers.
At tonight’s program, Shecklet #1 was surprised by being acknowledged with two awards – the “President’s Award for Educational Achievement” and the “PBIS SPARK Award.” We are so proud of what he has accomplished, how he has persevered – especially when things were hard, and look forward to watching him continue to grow as he starts high school in the fall – online!
Ultimate Frisbee State Tourney
This weekend was the middle school ultimate frisbee state tournament. The kids played on turf fields – something new, and definitely different than the long-grassed, lumpy fields of their regular season. It was also HOT.
Did I mention it was HOT?
Three games were played on Saturday – all wins. Three more games were played on Sunday, including the championship game that was almost won. The score was 8-9 and time ran out. It was disappointing to see the team lose, but there were definitely things that were learned in the areas of sportsmanship (what not to do.) I joked with Jake that our kids’ team of 10 was fielded from 6 families and their opponents had 30+ kids and conservatively, coming from what I’d imagine was at least 20 families. Our kids are champions in my book!
